Yorkshire County Cricket Club recently settled an employment claim for race discrimination brought against it by former player Azeem Rafiq and apologised for the racist abuse Rafiq had endured when he played for the Club.
Rafiq’s case may give a misleading impression about the time period in which a discrimination claim against an employer can be brought under the Equality Act 2010. It may at first glance appear that Rafiq was able to bring a claim against Yorkshire County Cricket Club which concerned racist treatment which occurred a number of months and years prior. However, discrimination claims against an employer must be brought within a very short period of time unless a relevant exception applies as was contended for in Rafiq’s case.
3 month time limit for employment discrimination claims
The Equality Act 2010 sets out strict time limits for bringing a claim against a current or former employer who has carried out a discriminatory act. This includes omissions on the part of the employer such as making a decision not to provide reasonable adjustments. Where the complaint relates to a failure to do something, it is treated under the Act as having occurred at the time the person decided not to do it (section 123(3)(b) Eq Act 2010).
While discrimination claims which do not relate to employment must be brought under the Act within six months (minus one day) of the date on which the discriminatory act occurred (section 118(1)(a) Eq Act 2010), the time frame in which an...
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